From grocery to game hall.
Out in Victoria, just west of the Arboretum, a former grocery store is about to get a new, much wilder life.
Victoria Burrow is getting ready to open this month in the former Victoria's Market building, right in the center of town. They've gutted the 26,000-square-foot building and are about to launch a game hall with full bar, scratch kitchen, bocce, arcade, mini-golf, axe throwing, and more! Just in time for MEA weekend!
There's clearly been some success with these places, Can Can Wonderland and Punch Bowl Social have proven that people want to play and eat. The guy running the spot, Jason Cooney, told me, "We wanted to bring something more interactive with the food and the gaming. In those other places, you have one area where you eat, and a different area where you play. We wanted something more immersive so that you can bring your food and drink wherever you want to go in here."
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Taps
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Bar
Before we get to the games, let's get to the goods. There's a full bar, crafted out of old shipping containers. Not only do they have 30 taps of craft and local beer, but they'll be offering a full bar menu that includes classic drinks, Prohibition-era cocktails, and fun and flashy concoctions like the blended Dirty Banana or the Fish Bowl drink for two.
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Food
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Fire
As for food, Cooney wants you to know they are serious about it. They've custom built the kitchen to be a scratch-cooking kitchen, with its own bakery on site. All the breads and pizza dough will be coming from in-house. Cooney is a vet of the industry, managing high volume places such as Jake O'Conners, Life Time restaurants, and Crave before Gold Nugget, where he'll still be GM. "We really want to surprise people with the quality of the food. There will be house-smoked meats in every station, and we've brought in Lala Ice Cream to be our partners. This isn't concession food." To keep everything casual and flowing how the gamers want it, the food will be counter service from these windows, also made from shipping containers. "There will be plenty of tables, but also drink rails all over the space so that you can take your food and head to the gaming area of your choice. It's food-hall style, so we'll have tacos, burgers, pizzas, but we also have a great kale Caesar with smoked salmon and a beet salad that is killer."
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Bocce and arcade games
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Axe Bar
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Cooney demos his axe skillz
So grab your veggie taco and let's get gaming! Besides the bocce court next to the dining tables, there's a couple of VR booths and tons of regulation arcade games. In the back of the room, you'll find the Axe Bar. Yes, booze and axe throwing in one space: what could go wrong? "You know, we actually decided to just own it. All of our employees back here are called Axe Chuckers and are well-trained in safety and fun. They'll teach you how to throw and then get a round of drinks for everyone and start competitions between squads. It's just like darts, but sharper," Cooney explained, as I chucked said axe at wood target. It didn't land, but I wanted to do it again.
Flora
And of course, the biggest and most obvious element of Victoria Burrow is the indoor mini golf course. "We thought that the tricky clown's head version had been done by others, so we decided to make it as green and challenging as we could."
Fauna
The front nine is easier, and wheel-chair accessible with wider paths. The back 18 is more difficult, and can be flexible with changing holes and paths that can work in the opposite direction. All of it is turfed and covered with faux plants and landscaping, including water features. That amount of green, even though it's plastic, will likely be a welcome sight in February.
Smartly, there's a fully audio/visual-equipped private room in the back for private parties and events. And, while they've hired lots of area high school kids to help man the games and stations, there is a 21+ policy after 8pm. No underage people will be allowed in after that, and anyone underage inside will have to wrap up and be out by 9pm. I'm feeling like this is a trend.
Victoria Burrow will be doing some private events for the neighborhood this weekend, but they will be open to the public by October 19, just in time for MEA weekend.
Victoria Burrow, 7999 Victoria Dr., Victoria, victoriaburrow.com
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